ANDY OLIVER: LIFE AFTER LORRIES

One year ago, a significant transition occurred in the Northern Ireland road haulage sector. Oliver Transport, a renowned family-owned business, was sold to WS Transportation, marking a new chapter for Andy Oliver, director of the Oliver Exorna Group.

Andy’s life has been steeped in the family business since his early childhood. His father, Willie Oliver, headed both Oliver Transport and Exorna Kitchens, which was initially based in Castlerock and later moved to Coleraine. Andy’s connection to the industry was so strong that he learned to drive a lorry at the tender age of 11. This early experience laid the groundwork for an opportunity-led career.

“My father had a great relationship with Spanboard in Coleraine; we were customers in terms of Exorna Kitchens while also being their main road haulage provider,” Andy says. “Lorries running out of the yards in Castlerock and Coleraine soon became normal life. After a reasonably short school life, cleaning trucks and trailers in evenings and weekends was part of life, and it gave me much-needed experience for shunting trailers around the yard.”

“ERFs were my father’s choice of truck; a lot of drivers didn’t like them, but with the Cummins engine and the fiberglass cab, I would say it was a choice made by an accountant and not that of a trucker!” explains Andy.

“Managing a dozen trucks by day and valeting people’s cars at night was a nice way to make a living in your 20s.”

In 2005, Andy’s father told him about a local vehicle hire business for sale, coincidentally on Andy’s 21st birthday. Coastal Self Drive, a van and minibus hire business, was purchased and moved to Hillmans Way, Coleraine.

The purchase of PJ O’Kane Transport in 2008 allowed Oliver Transport to move into the cross-channel road haulage sector. “Flat trailers became our main piece of equipment at a time when flat trailers weren’t popular among HGV drivers. Luckily, we had a great bunch of drivers that thrived on being ‘Flat Trailer Men.’”

In 2015, Andy met Nigel McMullan, who later became the COO of WS Transportation. This meeting marked the beginning of a commercial and personal friendship that ultimately led to the sale of Oliver Transport to WS Transportation in 2022. “Nigel is a great friend; thanks to him, the Stobart Family, and WS shareholders, I’ve been able to concentrate on our other businesses with the comfort of knowing our former drivers, staff, and customers are well looked after.”

In 2018, Solid Surface NI was established in the Coleraine headquarters, a stone worktop fabricator and retailer, further diversifying the business portfolio while also servicing the needs of sister company Exorna Kitchens.

In 2021, Andy acquired a business from his close friend Brian Kennedy – Nilfisk Gerni – which was later rebranded as Gerni NI and moved to the Hillmans Way, Coleraine headquarters. Supplying and servicing garden power tools, domestic, professional, and commercial cleaning, construction, and vacuum equipment.

In 2022, Oliver Transport was sold to WS Transportation, the transfer of assets and staff with headquarters moving to the new Toomebridge depot. The repair workshop had previously been separated from the business and trades as Northbrook Commercials.

A 6-bay repair workshop based in Coleraine maintains light and heavy goods vehicles for haulage operators and local businesses.

In 2023, Novelle by Exorna was launched, after a £100,000 investment, a luxury in-frame fitted furniture showroom was opened in the floor above the existing Exorna Kitchens showroom.

“Our new luxury showroom showcases kitchens complete with walk-in pantry, as well as an elegant living room with our bespoke media center as the main focal point. Additional offerings include a boot room, drinks cabinet, home office and laundry room, ensuring that both functional and aesthetic requirements are catered to with finesse.” Andy explains.

Andy continues to emphasize “As they say behind every good man is a great woman, my wife Lisa, works in accounts administration within Exorna Kitchens and is my business partner in Gerni NI. We are privileged to have extraordinary staff members across the group and we strive to cultivate a positive working environment for them”.

EXORNA KITCHENS & BEDROOMS

Kitchen and Bedroom Furniture

Manufacturer, Retailer and Installer. Established in 1981 our family business has been supplying kitchen and bedroom furniture to property developers, house builders, public housing authorities, social housing suppliers and the general public for over 40 years. Our 100,000sqft workshop manufactures and assembles over 1000 cupboards per week. As well as our own cabinets we also supply & are approved dealers for: Kitchen Doors from: Kitchen Stori (U-Form), PWS, O&S, Trade Moundings, Andoras as well as our own manufactured MFC and Foil Wrapped Doors. Electrical appliances from: Indesit, Hotpoint, Whirlpool, Neff, Siemens, Bora, GWA, AEG, Lacanche, Rangemaster, Miele, Liebherr and Bosch. https://www. exornakitchens.co.uk/electrical-appliances/ Sinks and Taps from: Blanco, Franke, Schock and Quooker.

Laminate Worktops from:

Egger, Duropal & Formica

Stone Worktops from: Cosentino Silestone, Cosentino Dekton as well as Natural Stone Splashback

Sliding Door Wardrobe Systems fabricated in-house with customised glass and mirror options.

All of our products are delivered direct to the customers site by our fleet of vans and trucks. All goods are either sold as “supply only” or “fully fitted”. On average, we install 25 fully fitted kitchens and bedrooms per week with a further 60 kitchen sets delivered as supplied only. A large selection of our products are available to view in our Coleraine Kitchen and Bedroom Showroom. Our 2,000sqft Showroom can be viewed by the general public and also used in conjunction with builders/developers/ other kitchen retailers who send their buyers to make selections within the preagreed kitchen or bedroom specification. www.exornakitchens.co.uk

SOLID SURFACE NI Stone Worktop Fabricator and Installer

In 2018 we made a £1m investment to set up a state of the art stone processing workshop. We chose Cosentino as our primary stone supplier, namely Silestone and Dekton products. We quickly qualified as a Cosentino Gold Fabricator, meaning we are able to offer a 25 year warranty on all Cosentino fitted products, one of the key benefits of this qualification.

We are currently installing 13 sets of stone worktops per week, but have the production and fitting capacity for a lot more.

Within the Exorna Kitchens & Bedrooms

Showroom in Coleraine we have over 16 different stone worktop installs on display along with samples of our full range of colours and products. www.solidsurfaceni.com

Novelle By Exorna

Luxury in-frame furniture specialising in creating bespoke pieces for every area of the home.

From the functional kitchen and pantry, the practical laundry and boot room, to the sophisticated home bar and living room, Novelle by Exorna offers a complete range of high-end furniture to enhance the overall

Northbrook Commercials

Maintenance of Light and Heavy Goods Vehicles. Offering commercial vehicle repairs, diagnostic and mechanical servicing to a wide range of businesses in Northern Ireland. In addition to vehicle repair we offer commercial vehicle body repair and painting services, which can provide accident damage repair and general paint refurbishment.

We are equipped with the latest mobile vehicle diagnostics equipment, roller brake tester and hydraulic play detector plates. Providing support to keep operators licenses compliant, including; Service record keeping Periodic vehicle servicing

Annual test preparation and presentation aesthetic and functionality of your home. Focussed on quality craftsmanship, using premium materials and incorporating exceptional design possibilities, Novelle by Exorna is the perfect choice for anyone seeking the very best luxury bespoke furniture. www.exornakitchens.co.uk/ novelle-by-exorna/

Coastal Self Drive

Short and Long Term Hire of 3.5T Panel

Vans and 7.5T Box Lorries to General Public and Business Customers.

Vehicles are available to hire using our fully comprehensive insurance or hirer can choose to use their own insurance. All vehicles are hired under “fully maintained” agreements with courtesy vehicles provided when required, all our vehicles are covered under AA Breakdown Cover within UK & Ireland. www.coastalselfdrive.co.uk

Gerni Ni

Supplying and servicing Garden Power

Tools, Domestic, Professional and Commercial Cleaning, Construction and Vacuum Equipment for over 30 years. Stocking equipment from some of the world’s leading manufacturers;

STIHL – Power Tools & Garden Care Equipment

Nilfisk – Floorcare & Vacuum Cleaners

Kranzle – German Manufactured Pressure Washers

Delfin – Custom Built Industrial Vacuums & Dust Collection Equipment

Billy Goat – Outdoor Clean-up Equipment

Duplex – Steam Cleaning Machines

Segway – GPS Navigated Robotic Mowers

Cub Cadet – Domestic & Professional Outdoor Power Equipment

2 x stocked mobile service vans as well as in-house service workshop, with the moto of “Servicing anything we sell” www.gerni-ni.com

We also supply a wide range of quality cleaning chemicals to complement our machines.